Languages of the Central African Republic

The official languages of the Central African Republic are French and Sango. In total there are about 72 languages in the country.[1]

Languages of the Central African Republic
French billboards in Bangui
OfficialFrench (Standard), Sango
IndigenousUbangian languages, Runga, Bongo–Bagirmi languages, some Bantu languages
VernacularAfrican French
ForeignEnglish
SignedAmerican Sign Language (Francophone African Sign Language)
Keyboard layout
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Signs in French in Bangui

In the CAR, French is the language of writing and formal situations. In 2022, French is spoken by 28.6 % of the population, i.e. 1.4 million people out of 5.[2][3]

Sango has about 350,000 native speakers. It has become the lingua franca of the country. It became a national language in 1963 and an official language (alongside French) in 1991. It is estimated that 92% of the CAR's population is able to speak Sango. The language has become the mother tongue of almost all children in Bangui.[4]

Nearly all of the native languages of the CAR belong to the Ubangian languages. There are a few Bantu languages in the extreme south, along the border with Congo-Brazzaville, and several Bongo–Bagirmi languages in the north, near the border with Chad. In addition, there is a Maban language, Runga.

Education for the deaf in CAR uses American Sign Language, introduced by the deaf American missionary Andrew Foster.

See also

References
  1. "Central African Republic – Country". Ethnologue.
  2. Richard, Marcoux. "Estimation des populations francophones dans le monde en 2022" (PDF). Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (in French). Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  3. Beck, Baptiste; Marcoux, Richard; Richard, Laurent; Wolff, Alexandre (2018). Estimation des populations francophones dans le monde en 2018: Sources et démarches méthodologiques [Estimation of French-speaking populations in the world in 2018: Methodological sources and approaches] (PDF) (Report). Note de recherche de l'ODSEF (in French). Québec: Observatoire démographique et statistique de l'espace francophone, Université Laval. p. 45. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  4. "Central African Republic – Language". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
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